snow at the art house

so, in case you haven't figured it out yet,
our family trip was up to Bend, Oregon.
a 15 and a half hour drive up the I-5 freeway...
my little sister lives up there, as i am sure you remember from my trip LAST month.
i just HAD to bring my kids and my reedo up there to show them the amazingness.
so up we went for thanksgiving.
we stayed a few blocks away from my sister at an fabulous old catholic school turned inn, called McMininmins.
it was so so so so cool.
we stayed in a cottage called the art house and right out our back door was....
wait for it reedo....
an outdoor pub with big fire pits.
really it was right outside our back door.
there are a buncha great breweries up in bend and so a main part of our trip was reedo enjoying all different kinds of his favorite drink....
not in a lush kinda way....
in a super classy "beer tasting" kinda way ;)
add to it, that one of reedo's best friends lives up there and could meet him out there after the kids settled down.
well, that is frankly pretty close to heaven, for him.
i was so glad to see him enjoy his time there.
i kept my fridge stocked with treats from Jackson's Corner and snacked on them while reading my book for the trip, The Help.
so i was in heaven too!

here are some pictures of the first few minutes when we arrived at the art house.
after sliding through that SUPER snowy section on the previous post, we made it to bend, but there wasn't snow there....yet.
it started about five minutes after we checked in.
and continued all night.
now for an OC girl, this is not everyday stuff....
and now my KIDS are in heaven!

i know, i know, he is so cute when he is in "daddy mode".

 back off ladies. 

resist the temptation to check the "love him" box....

ella was stunned.

look at the snow in her lashes.

oh gosh.

(just wait till you see her rad moves in the snow in my upcoming "sledding" posts!)

his real smile.

sigh.

(taken by tiny...of course)

i can just smell his cheek form here!

gulp....love him!

our family trip to Bend, Oregon

November 2010

i know. you've missed me. i've missed you too.

well.
this is what i've been doing.

ROAD TRIP!

(the naughty beard and rudolph nose is a getting back at jake for the AT-TI-TUDE about having his picture taken)

uh oh.....here it comes....

we had to stop for the night since they closed the I-5 freeway, due to crazy amounts of snow.

we handled it this way....

then back on the road at 6am

and down came the snow

need i say it?

stressed

that poor guy.

this was the first time my kids had EVER been in falling snow....i HAD to take pictures of them peeing on the tire!

reedo thought i was ridiculous.

i was.

so?

sure, everyone is stressed.

sure, it is very dangerous road conditions.

but my boys have never seen snow fall!

i show them how to catch flakes on their tongues, on the side of the road....priceless.

to be continued...

i am grateful for...

yah, i'll admit it.

some times i really am grateful for...

"the wii" (day 16)

it brings fighting brothers together in unity.

i am grateful for....

"food" (day 15)

chicken noodle soup
1 roasted chicken(from grocery store)
small bag mini carrots
1 onion
3 bay leaves
1 tsp dry thyme
1 lb egg noodles( you don't need all of them!)
salt and pepper

1. put your chicken in a large pot and almost cover with water
2. add the onion coarsely chopped up, and 10 or so baby carrots, and the bay leaves and thyme
3. bring to a boil and then let simmer (uncovered)for a long time (three hours?) add water
4. strain the broth and then return it to the pot.
5. get all the meat off the chicken...well most of it. ew. then throw the rest of that stuff away...
6. put it back in the broth.
7. add salt and pepper, a little water, the rest of the carrots (each baby cut into three pieces for quicker cooking), and as many noodles as you like. remember they plump up!

ymmmmmm
i know this is simple, but still, i thought i'd share.
serve it with fresh bread!
i bake my own with a secret recipe.
it's called "grammy bread"
passed to me by my kid's honorary "grammy lois"
i am so lucky.
sorry i can't share the recipe.
ha ha! no i'm not.

look at this!

My Family from WiddlyTinks.com i made this on widdlytinks.comit's not REALLY us.but doesn't it look just like us!!??you should make one.it is super easy and fun.not one of those things that takes forever and you wonder what the point even is, but at that moment there has been too much time invested to give up.....not like that at all.

i am grateful for....

"three" (day 14)

three.....it's a magic number.

this is what it looks like for my babygirl to turn three.

i have to add a few things.
don't i look so happy NOT to be giving birth up there?
yay for me.
also, tiny ty was the THE happiest person and the most excited about ella's birthday.
what a treasure.
finally, the last few minutes of ellas birthday were spent in her room listening to a cd made by leslie.
she made her a princess/peter pan mix of songs.
it was the best thing in the world, to her.
she was thrilled and danced and sang EVERY song.
we even had some assistance from our own handsome prince, when ty joined her to dance to "once upon a dream".
they held both each others hands and twirled around the room singing.
it was one of those moments.
i wanted to frame it.
thanks, les.

i am grateful for....

"learning to use scissors" (day 11)

"beanies" (day 12)

"yarn" (day 13)

i don't usually do this....

but.
in honor of my ella's birthday, i thought i should share a video.
it isn't that exciting.
but it is just so typical of my children.
they all have things to say and no one is really paying attention to the others.....
i am gonna LOVE looking back at this, i think.
so, scroll down and turn off the ipod music in the side bar
and then brace yourself for my own personal circus....
enjoy.

thanksgiving cheater

if i get something new, i have to wear it THAT day...
or the next day at the latest.

when the seasons change and fall comes, i have a really hard time waiting for thanksgiving dinner.
(and yes, i DO peek at my presents if there is an opportunity)

i know, i know...
i am a cheater.
i am too eager.

because of my eager-ness, this is what we had for dinner on Thursday night.
reedo was gonna be home for dinner for the first time in a while, since he has had some crazy weeks at work.
he loves these.
they are man food.
i made the green beans for myself...and tiny ty.
cause if it was up to jake and reedo just the meat and potatoes would be perfect.

i know you have all probably made this kind of thing many-a-time for day after thanksgiving leftovers.
but what about just making it because it is so GOOD!

i think the only sad part is the deli-ish turkey....cause i love me some GOOD fresh turkey.
but the whole feeling of the comfort that comes from the combination of these foods makes up for it for me.
at least for now.
maybe i will learn how to be a better turkey roaster at a different stage of my life.
like, one when i don't have a realllllly grouchy three-year-old at my feet while i cook......

{embrace} the camera

a few of you have asked what kind of camera i use.

i keep forgetting to do a post to answer.

so here it is.

i use a Canon Rebel T1i.

my reedo got it for me last christmas.

it was from costco.

he asked erin what to get and then obeyed her.

that obedience worked out for all of us.

erin, what's your trick to get him to listen and obey?

before that i had a tiny broken point and shoot.

so this year i have worked hard to learn how to use a big girl camera.

i even learned to shoot in manual.

well, sorta.

i just decided to start one day.

i wasted a lot of time learned the hard way.

i then took Joy's class.

heaven.

i learned how to do much more through her.

and i also embraced picnik.

i really want to get a real photo editor.

i took advantage of a free temporary download of lightroom.

but that only lasted for a few months.

soon. i will get the real lightroom.

i am waiting because reedo wants to get a mac too.

so i will need to get a different version than will work on my current computer.

anyhow, that my deal.

i have really come to love taking pictures and sharing them with you.

who'd-a-thought?

today i pulled my happy little rebel out and joined up with this cute idea....

check out this great blog and join in on the fun!

here's my pic.
i am including this as my 365 picture too.
"embracing the camera" (day 10)

i am grateful for....

"maple leaves" (day 9)

ok. so it seems that many of you get fall at your house.

 by fall,  i mean colorful leaves and crisp air.

i don't.

but these maple leaf cookies almost make up for that.

almost.

but as i looked at this self portrait, i realized there are many unexpected things in it that i am thankful for.

the cookies, of course.

the color of my t-shirt.(target)

the fact that my nails look pretty good (thank you OPI gels)

my laugh lines (yah, you heard me right)

the fact that the dishes in the sink behind me are not stacked THAT high.

the way my momma stares right back at me in my eyes.

really.

to me, i look so much like her in this picture.

***************************************************

and while on the subject of my mom, i just want to share.

lately, my kids are getting to the age where i start to remember being that age.

and with that i start to remember my mom's mothering at that age.

i know this may seem kinda funny and specific,

 but since i will always be processing her early death, these are the things i think about.

before this, i just had a general feeling about my mom and how she mothered me.

i couldn't remember exact conversations that we had when i was my kids age, since they were very little.(and i don't have lots of memories that far back)

 my memories were more of a big picture.

she was always there.

she was my best friend.

she loved me.

she was sometimes frustrated.

she was working hard.

but, now my everyday experiences are triggering more specifics.

i remember not eating my lunch at school and her reaction.

and i now have my own boy with the same issue, and my memories and my reality merge,

only i'm now on the other side.

this is felt the most with Jake (my seven year old) right now, since i have more memories of that general age.

his frustration and my reactions, his helpfulness as the oldest child.

they are all things i can remember going through with my mom.

I am sure it will be a another level once my daughter reaches this spot.

i think i have mentioned before, that i have come to understand that even though my mom is not living in this world with me, right now, my relationship to her is still evolving. 

as i reach milestones in my life and witness them in my sister's and brother's lives, i come to understand her more and more.

much of it is speculation on how she must have felt when faced with _____, and sometimes i want to scream from just needing to ask her what she thought about these new(to me) challenges.

does any of this make sense?

i just needed to get it out, so if i seems to all over the place and confusing, just click away.

for now, i will continue to watch the memories of my childhood collide with the real time happenings of my children and try to remember the good reactions that my mom had and try to filter out her not so ideal reactions.

i can only hope my kids will have the grace to do the same for me someday.

and i am hoping i will be around to talk about and maybe even apologize for some of my imperfect mommying.

ps. my mom would HATE the no capitals and questionable spelling on the reed life, but other than that, she'd love it.

blah blah blah and a rad online magazine....

here are some random thoughts going on in my head today
*******************************************************

our tidbit boutiques were so great!
it was amazing to hang out with my favorite red head and be a super-team.
i was happy to get out there with our creations and do something besides mommying and running our house for a few short half days.

it's nice to change it up a bit and get out of the norm.

however
my house has seen better days.
my reedo will agree.
there was at least a few weeks of neglect.
and by neglect, i mean i just did the minimum for all my tasks and it built and built until today i just wanted to jump out of my skin.
or run away.
are you understanding what i mean here?
well, i must say i kicked some serious mess booty and my house is looking a lot better after my hours of straightening and throwing stuff away.
hallelujah!
*******************************************************
also,
 because of my critical look around my space today, i just want to send an email to all our friends and family BEGGING THEM not to get my kids a buncha toys this Christmas!
isn't that horrible?!
i just don't think i can take one more thing to clean up.
*******************************************************
i have a question for you ladies out there who have and are raising girls.
WHAT IN THE WORLD!!!!
i am out of my league here, people!
my precious sweet ella, who has been an amazing sleeper, who had always seemed to go with the group
is now a monster.
a really pretty monster....who i want to hug and kiss.
i am telling you, one small thing can tick her off and she is out of control.
on the ground.
won't let me touch her.
sobbing.
screaming.
covering her face with the back of her hand.
it is like a sally field movie.
what am i gonna do?
sometimes i think she is going to hurt herself with all the flailing and stomping and flinging.
please tell me what to do.
************************************************************
and finally,
 i followed the yellow brick road (what i somtimes called the crazy blogging path to fabulous)

and i found this special snazzy online magazine.
it was linked on Heather's blog.
why is she so flippin great?

it's called
gifted magazine

there is so much beauty, i have to be careful not to overload and get angry, ya know?
is that crazy?

"no! no! no!" in place of "ho! ho! ho!"

oh wow.
 i'm on a roll.
so find your happy place.

then, what i recommend is making yourself a cup of marshmallow milk (chocolate or plain) and sitting by the fire tonight and reading this little inspirational magazine.